Here's the next chapter. I've gotten myself stuck again so it might take a little longer for the next chapter as I figure out what to do next. Also, I'm finishing up my research and getting ready to go home so I apologize if I don't update as frequently.
Hope you enjoy.
The Merchandise
A scream rent the air, startling her from her sleep. A quick glance outside told her it was a little after dawn. Sano was sitting up groggily next to her.
"The hell," he said rubbing his eyes.
"It came from the main house," she said slipping out of bed and grabbing her overcoat. Sano wasn't far behind her. They ran to the main house and were let in by the servants. She followed the screaming to Raku's room.
When she opened the door, she was met with the temper tantrum of the century. Tau was cowering in the corner. Raku wasn't throwing things directly at him, more she was throwing things and some of them were hitting the man.
"Raku," She called but her friend didn't hear.
Cautiously she entered the room. Calling out to Raku a few more times to no avail. She intentionally slipped on a shirt on the ground. Causing her to fall in front of Tau and take the hit from a rather large book.
"Raku," She shouted getting up and grabbing the girl. Finally, Raku noticed she was there.
"Megumi? What are you doing here?"
"I heard screaming. Are you alright?"
"Ya it's just…urgh," Raku said throwing a pillow against the wall before sitting down. "Someone messed up and I lost something valuable. They had one job and they screwed up."
"What did you lose?" she asked with a mental sigh of relief. She thought something bad had happened. Raku might buy slaves, but she had a good side.
"My merchandise," Raku screamed. She moved away from the girl. Raku's anger was slightly terrifying though.
"Ok, can we find it again?" She asked feeling like she was dealing with a child.
"No. It's broken now. After all the effort I went through to get it and now it's broken."
"Do you know who took it?"
"No. And that's the annoying part. Whoever they are, they are very skilled. They slipped through our security unnoticed." Raku said, throwing another pillow that hit Tau. She bit her lip, wondering if the thieving friends Kaoru mentioned had anything to do with it.
"How about we get some food and calm down. Then we can see if we can discover anything," she said soothingly. Raku nodded and went to get dressed. While she waited she went around the room, picking up things that weren't broken. After a couple of seconds, Tau started to help. She was sitting on Raku's bed looking bored when Raku came out, so that Raku didn't see her and a slave working together.
They got breakfast in the garden, talking about silly things so that Raku calmed down. Halfway through breakfast a guard came out and Raku started yelling at him. Whoever the thief was, they had not tripped a single alarm. Which, from the sound of it, was rather difficult to do.
"If you don't mind me asking, what was stolen?" She asked once the man had been thoroughly tongue lashed.
"A rare piece of merchandise. It was brought here two nights ago, and I was waiting for it to be ready to sell." Raku's round about answer told her that Raku didn't want to say. So, she did what was expected of her, and stopped pushing.
"I'm sorry. Can you replace it?"
"Not with the same one. I liked the one I had."
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," Raku said. "That reminds me. I haven't told you about the auction I went to yesterday. It was quite the show. You should have come."
"I wanted to, but the ball tired me out more than I expected it to. Thank you for your offer by the way," she said. She had gotten good at being detached from the words that left her mouth so her true emotions didn't get through.
"Your welcome. How is the house search going?"
"Alright, I guess I'm just not use to such a large space so I'm uneasy about buying such a large house. I mean, what am I going to fill it with? I'm only one person."
"Well you can stay with us for as long as you want," Raku said taking her hand.
"But I feel bad. It's your house."
"I don't mind. It's been kind of nice to be back at the main house. Closer to my parents and not relying on just one slave to do everything."
"Well thank you. But I'll try and find my own place as soon as possible," she said. It was actually a problem she was figuring out, since in the long run she wouldn't need the house. She was still looking though, to keep up appearances. If she found something small she would get it. She didn't know how long their plan would take.
She couldn't bring herself to sleep, no matter how much Kenshin pushed her to. Not with Yahiko missing. Why had they taken him? He was still a child; the drug might not work on him. So then why take him? Aoshi had said it was to test Megumi, but then where was he now? What were they doing to him?
After Aoshi and Misao had returned to tell them that the lead had ended in a dead end she had gotten even more depressed. No one had any idea where he might be. An entire day of looking and they still had nothing.
"We'll find him," Kenshin said for the hundredth time. It did nothing to make her feel better.
"He's just a kid. I shouldn't have left him alone," she said. Kenshin wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.
"It's not your fault Kaoru."
"I'm his guardian. I'm supposed to look after him."
Kenshin just squeezed her tightly, he couldn't deny the truth in her statement. "He's alive. Take comfort in that."
"But in what state?"
"I don't know. Be we will find him."
She let Kenshin hold her and try and assuage her anguish. His words did little to help, but he was there. He cared, and that was something. She fought the urge to cry, she would cry when they found Yahiko. She wouldn't waste precious time crying now.
Her phone rang, startling both of them. She sat up and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Kaoru?" Tae's voice came through. "You need to come to the hospital right away."
"Alright," she said and hung up. "It was Tae, she needs me at the hospital," she said to Kenshin as she grabbed her medicine kit. She was loath to do something other than look for Yahiko, but Tae wouldn't have called if it wasn't an emergency. She hoped Yahiko would understand.
"I'll keep looking," Kenshin said. Outside her apartment they split ways. She walked as fast as she could to the hospital.
Tae met her out front and immediately took her to the box, leading her to one of the furthest rooms. Her heart stopped when the door opened, and she saw Yahiko curled up in the corner. She wanted to run to him, but she knew the dangers.
"It's safe," Tae said.
She didn't need to be told twice. She dropped her things and ran to him, pulling him onto her lap.
"Kaoru," he said, his voice raw.
"I'm here," she said running her hand through her hair. "You're ok." Now, the tears fell freely.
"Your alive," he said, his voice breaking as he clutched her shirt tightly.
"I'm here," she repeated, holding him tight as he shook. "You're ok."
"Are you going to kick me out?" He asked softly.
"Never," she said pressing her cheek to the top of his head. "You're stuck with me."
At that he broke down completely. She held him tightly, whispering reassurances over and over again as tears fell down her own cheeks. He was alive. He was back. He was safe. She repeated this over and over in her mind to reassure herself.
Eventually, Yahiko fell asleep. She was unwilling to let him away from her side. So, she just sat there and held him. Listening to his breathing as the worry slowly left her body.
"How is he?" Tae asked, coming in with some tea.
"Asleep. Where did you find him?"
"I didn't. He was out front when I got here this morning. I have no idea how he got there." She looked down at the boy in her arms, he was in no state to escape. So, how had he gotten there?
"And his condition?"
"He was dosed once from what I can tell. It's heightened his insecurities, but that's the worst of it. He wouldn't talk to anyone. He just kept asking for you. We needed to make sure it was safe before calling you. That probably did more damage than we thought it would. He was fairly convinced you were dead by the time I called."
"You did what you had to do. Thank you," she said.
Tae nodded and smiled. "Mr. Saito is here to drive you home."
She stood up with Tae's help, making sure not to wake Yahiko. Saito met her outside. He smiled softly as he helped her into the car. The drive home was quiet, neither of them wanting to wake the boy.
"I'll let the others know," Saito said softly as he dropped them off. "Get some rest."
"Thank you," she said, awkwardly exiting the car.
It was a bit of a juggle, getting into her apartment with Yahiko in her arms, but she managed. Once she was sure the door and windows were locked, she retired to her room with Yahiko. She laid him on her bed and curled up next to him, one arm wrapped protectively around him. Then, she fell asleep.
The smells of cooking woke her up. Yahiko was curled up as close as possible to her with his hands gripping her shirt. Gently, she shook him awake. His eyes were red and raw.
"Hay there sleepy head," she said smiling gently. He rubbed his eyes, sitting up, but didn't move away from her. She wrapped her arms around him again and he leaned into her. "I'm glad your safe," he nodded. "Your throat hurt?" Another nod. "Let's get you some tea."
They stood up, but he stayed close to her. They walked out of her room to find Kenshin in the kitchen.
"Food's almost done," Kenshin said.
"Kenshin, there should be a black container with a white lid in the pantry. Can you use it to make some tea?" She asked while she and Yahiko sat down on the couch. Soon she was forcing Yahiko to drink the tea while she ate.
Yahiko still stayed close to her, but he was slowly becoming himself again. Calling her annoying and ugly a few times when she continued to force food and tea down his throat. The drug had hurt him, but there was no lasting damage. All he needed to know was that it hadn't been real, and his brain quickly pushed the pain away. The fears would quickly become just fears again. It wouldn't haunt him like it did Misao.
"You'll be happy to know that I think Aoshi and Misao finally figured things out," Kenshin said as they ate. They would push Yahiko for answers when he was a little less raw.
"You think?" She said smiling.
"I don't know what else would make Aoshi so happy. He almost smiled, that he did." She laughed and could feel Yahiko laugh quietly.
"I'm glad. Took them long enough."
"I don't know who took me," Yahiko said suddenly.
She looked at him, "You don't have…"
He shook his head, cutting her off. "I want to. They wore masks, I never got a good look at them. When I woke up I was in a cadge. Some soldier looking person forced me to drink something that made me numb and I had trouble seeing."
"Probably something that causes temporary paralysis," she said.
"Then they took me into a place full of light and color. I don't really know what people were saying, but there were people talking. Then they took me away again and put me in a car. I don't know how long we drove, but we came to a large house. Somehow we went under the house and I was thrown in another cadge before being dosed with the drug."
She ran his hand up and down his back for comfort. "Do you remember how you got to the hospital?"
"Someone came into the cell later. I don't think they were a guard. They gave me some water and then gagged me. I don't remember much past that, but they were carrying me. I vaguely remember the gag being removed."
"Do you have any idea who they were?"
"It was a man but that's all I know. I couldn't see anything. There was something in his voice that made me trust him."
"Well, whoever he is, he has my thanks," she said. She had no idea who had known where Yahiko was or where to find him, but she hoped to one day meet them. She would have to contact Shura, to see if her group had anything to do with this.
"Do you know why they took me?" Yahiko asked. She quickly filled him in on what she knew. "Is Megumi alright?"
"She's fine from the sound of it," She said.
"Miss. Megumi's smart, that she is," Kenshin said. "We will work on informing her that you are alright. She and Sano were quite worried."
"Sorry," Yahiko said.
"There's no reason to apologize, that there isn't," Kenshin said looking Yahiko in the eyes. "It was not your fault. We are just glad you are back and in one piece."
"That we are," she echoed, hugging the boy. Yahiko grumbled and pulled away from her slightly. She just grinned and pulled him closer to annoy him.
"Le'go ugly," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. He was going to be fine.
"Not a chance," she said.
"Now now," Kenshin said as they started play fighting. "Let's not break anything. I just finished cleaning." Yahiko just tackled him in response, causing a startled oro from the man. She laughed. Yahiko was back and he was alright, nothing could make her happier at the moment.